He chuckled. “Just remember that the next time I do something you don’t like.”
Several weeks later
“Anyone here?”
Josiah laid down the tack he’d been repairing most of the morning and walked out of the barn, momentarily blinded by the glare from the bright noonday sun. A few seconds later, he found himself confronted by two massive horses.
Glancing up, he grinned and grabbed the outstretched hand of his old friend, Paul Daniels. He then grasped the hand of Dean Potter, ex-military who now worked as Daniels’ foreman. “What are you doing here, my friends?”
Paul motioned with a wide sweep of one arm behind him and backed his horse up a few steps. “We bring you a gift.”
Josiah could only stare in wonder at the dozen or so magnificent horses milling around in his yard. His mouth opened. He took a tentative step forward, shaking his head in amazement. “What? Who?” He glanced up at Paul who held out a leather pouch. “This is for you from Clay.”
He took the pouch and untied the strings. With a quick glance up at Paul, he opened the flap to see a large number of bills inside. “I don’t understand.” He closed the pouch and retied the strings. “Why would Clay send this to me?”
Paul smiled. “Because it’s your money—at least some of it anyway. Your father’s horse ranch made money, Josiah. The army paid him well for the horses he bred. Clay figured you could use some of it to get started with your own ranch now that you seem to be showing the same interest.” Paul shrugged. “I sort of sent him a letter telling him you asked for a few head of horses… He took it from there.”
Josiah held out the pouch to Paul. “Then this belongs to you as payment for the horses you brought.”
Dean chuckled. “No. Like he said, these are a gift.”
Josiah turned to glance at Dean. “A gift…from who?”
Dean’s smile widened. “Your old friend, Quanah.”
“Josiah?” Mia’s quiet voice came from behind.
He turned and pulled her to his side. He wrapped his arm around her waist, needing to feel her against him. “Mia, this is a very old friend of mine, or actually I guess he’s family—Paul Daniels.”
Paul tugged on the brim of his hat with a smile. “Ma’am.”
Josiah motioned with a flick of his wrist to Dean. “And this is his foreman, Dean Potter.”
“Ma’am.”
“This is my wife, Mia.” He glanced at the three children lined up behind them. “And our children, Summer, Billy, and Elias.”
“Nice to meet you, and welcome to the family.” Paul smiled at them with a quick nod.
“Why are there horses in our yard?” Mia asked, a bewildered look on her face as her eyes followed several horses making their way closer toward her small garden.
“I was just telling your husband, Quanah Parker sent them as a gift.”
“Quanah Parker?” Billy exclaimed. “Josiah, you really know Quanah Parker?”
Paul nodded, a mischievous grin on his face. “He sure does. He used to come visit the farm, and Quanah remembers him as a scrawny mixed breed Indian with a gift for talking to the horses. The same gift Quanah has. He said Comanche memories run deep and Quanah has never forgotten how Josiah used to follow him like a shadow.”
Paul leaned forward in his saddle, draping his arm across the horn. “He wanted me to tell you the horses are from him in friendship and as family.”
Josiah was both honored and amazed at such a generous gift. “I will send him the first foal.”
“He will like that very much. You should bring the family for a visit soon. I know Anna would love to see you and meet your new wife.”
“Won’t you stay for supper?”
“Sorry, but Anna will have my hide if I don’t get back in time for the birth of our second babe. She’s not due for another month, but I’m not taking any chances. Knowing her, she isn’t staying down and is probably out rounding up cattle and will have the babe early. I almost missed the first one, and she hasn’t let me hear the end of it yet.”
Mia smiled. “I think I like her already.”